Video/stereo.

Beosound 9000: Attractive Package Of Quality

You experience the Bang & Olufsen Beosound 9000 compact disc changer, you don't merely play it. This work of art masquerades as an audio component -- or is it an audio component masquerading as art?

B&O stakes its success on uniquely attractive audio components. In the early 1970s, it shifted from just another European manufacturer of quality audio gear to the design leader in audio components. B&O, a Danish company, monopolized the design area of the audio world for about 15 years.

Lately, however, other companies realized that stunning design along with good sound sells product. Attractive gear makes the shelves of some audio salons look like an annex to the Museum of Contemporary Art. With the Beosound 9000, B&O stays one very big step ahead of the pack.

Most companies try to make CD changers as compact as possible. The Beosound 9000 measures roughly a yard by a foot. With this changer, height and width are relative, since it can be used in any orientation. You can hang it on the wall vertically or horizontally, mount it vertically on an optional stand, or place it flat, horizontally on a shelf.

Most CD changers move the disc to the mechanism. The Beosound 9000 moves the player to the disc. The Beosound 9000 retails for $4,000. While this sounds pricey, B&O promises that the changer mechanism accelerates (when moving from one disc to the next) from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than 5.7 seconds. The floor stand is an additional $500.

For ultimate visual appeal, B&O counts on discs with fancy graphics on the disc itself, because a tempered glass door covers the entire length of the changer, showcasing all six discs you've loaded. You can position the disc precisely how you wish to view it when it's not playing. Even after playing, the Beosound 9000 will return it to that position. The player mechanism illuminates the disc that's playing.

B&O places a barely perceptible button on the cabinet next to each disc. The lightest touch sends the player whirling away to that disc. To load and remove discs, pressing a button magically opens the glass door. On the opposite side from the disc buttons, a manually opened, ridged, light-gray metal door conceals the general operating controls.

The Beosound 9000 is not quite a receiver, since it lacks power amplifiers. It incorporates a preamplifier with tone controls, and an AM/FM stereo tuner. Clock controls allow you to set the time, and then set an alarm mode to awaken you, and a sleep mode that automatically turns off the system. The entire control panel lifts out and reverses to suit the orientation of the Beosound 9000.

Between the discs and control panel, a red operating display tells you everything you need to know about the operation of the system. When you reverse the control panel, the display automatically flips, too. You can name up to 200 CDs, using cursor keys to scroll through the alphabet. The name then appears on the display each time you play that disc. You also can select your favorite tracks on those CDs, so each time they play you only hear the songs you like.

Similarly, you can preset 60 radio stations, and label them with their call letters, or any short description you like. Although the Beosound 9000 uses automatic synthesized tuning, it is one of the few receivers on the market that permits manual fine-tuning, which can be extremely useful in certain situations. You can then store that optimally tuned position in memory, so when you recall the preset the station comes in loud and clear.

B&O charges $250 extra for the Beo4 remote control. Considering the price of the Beosound 9000, this strikes me as just a little greedy. This slender, but heavy wand wields immense power to control the system, once you figure out how to use it. It even has its own LCD display. It can control other components as well as the Beosound. A brightly colored, diamond shaped box in the middle with arrow shaped keys and a "go" button in the center help simplify a remote that comes with its own 20-page instruction manual.

B&O presents you with two options to amplify the sound from the Beosound 9000. You can use a conventional amplifier with your choice of speakers, or a pair of the company's amplified speakers. B&O provided the Beolab 8000 speakers at $3,000 per pair for my review of the Beosound 9000.

The Beolab 8000, perhaps the most elegant speakers on the market, stand pencil-like and point into a solid metal base. They taper from the point to thin silver columns with a narrow black grille slightly larger than the column. They look like they're balancing in space. Each speaker contains it own amplifier. They switch on automatically when you play the Beosound 9000. They also can be used with a conventional receiver or CD player. The Beolab 8000 requires less than a square foot of floor space.